MH-221 Omid - MonolithOmid raises the standard on producer-driven hip-hop albums with Monolith, a project that rests in concept between his Celestial Recordings smash Beneath The Surface and 2002's stellar Distant Drummer. Equally split between layered instrumental pieces and standout vocal tracks, Omid invites some of the world's most important emcees to rhyme over his beautifully crafted, Middle Eastern tinged productions. Buck 65, Busdriver, Abstract Rude, 2Mex, Spoon (of Iodine), Luckyiam.PSC, Slug, Aceyalone, and Murs all give noteworthy performances. Two standout tracks are turned in by Hymnal, whose world-weary tales of moral corruption bookend the album. In a time where some producers are content with just making beats, Omid's mature design speaks volumes with or without emcees.

Omid's Monolith is a bit more downbeat, mining a stoned-slow, late-night vibe that's typical of indie rap's instrumental producers. But the LA beat-smith knows his way around a baroque hook - check how he dots "Double Header," which features Halifax rapper Buck 65, with orchestral swirls, or the wowing/fluttering strings and theremin that underpin the ghost-babble vocal of "Arrival/Departure," As for Slug, he laments on "Live from Tokyo," "I feel like half of a man / All in this foreign land / Living half of my life out of a touring van / Half of these fans probably wish that I would stop it." Not when you choose your collaborators this well we don't. - Seattle Weekly